We’ve all heard it from one person or another: “When you’re older, you need to get out of here and go somewhere better.” Many of us have thought that we would like to leave Appalachia; however, there is always the deep feeling that we should be able to stay.
Undoubtedly, the region has faced decades of strife that have stripped the area of its environmental and economic stability. Extractive industries and a culture of white supremacy have led to the poisoning and pollution of air and waterways at the expense of communities. The impact is a place that can be inhospitable to Black, indigenous and queer youth. Many feel the need to leave the region for places that could provide more opportunities for work and community. Many have left and hope to one day return if they can, but of those who stay, some are working to create a better outcome for Appalachia.
In a place where many youth feel like they don’t belong, STAY co-coordinator Jules Kessler is working to change that. “STAY is a network of belonging. It is a coalition of young people who are made to feel like we don’t belong in the region, but through STAY, we foster that place of belonging,” they said.
STAY began in 2008 at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference. Young people in the region wanted a place where they could identify entry points into organizing for social change and grow their skills as organizers and activists. With a coalition of young people and supportive adults like the late Elandria Williams, a social justice organizer within Appalachia, STAY was founded and has been creating that space ever since.
They are a coalition of people in Appalachia ages 14–30 who share a vision of liberation and justice focused on decentralized grassroots organizing across the region. The crux of STAY is that young people in the region already are and have been working to make the region better, more equitable and a place where we all can be free.
“Youth have always been at the forefront and the forebearers of change. It is a force that has an image for the better,” co-coordinator for the STAY project, Mekyah Davis, said. “We are thinking about our commitment to care and our commitment to relationships. We can’t have a proper movement without building deep instead of wide.”
Through the work of STAY, young people can network and organize while building connections and having fun. It is building a culture of care, community and liberation within the region. By bringing young folks together, sharing knowledge, learning from our histories and fostering community, STAY can help make Appalachia a place we can and want to stay.
STAY’s premier event is the STAY Summer Institute (SSI), which has occurred every year since 2011. From Pittsburgh to Birmingham, STAY members from around the region come together for a few days of dreaming, relationship-building and working to identify what needs to be done in the region.
Steering Committee member A-Nya Badger noted that her first SSI “felt like an experience of mutual respect and autonomy like she had never experienced before.”
The Summer Institute provides space for youth and young organizers to connect, make friends and grow a vision for the future. Attendees participate in activities of all kinds, such as resource mapping and creating caucus spaces for Black, queer and disabled youth, to more lighthearted activities such as community building and Dungeons and Dragons.
If you can’t get to SSI, it’s okay. Communications and Storytelling Coordinator Jess Sturgill noted that STAY’s communication goes deeper than only the in-person meetings. “We want to reach out to rural youth. In-person gatherings can be out of the way. This is where I see the benefit in our online communication, our zoom communication and our print communication,” she said.
STAY’s work is dispersed among six different STAYtions: Arts and Culture, Black Appalachian Young and Rising, Communications and Storytelling, Popular Education and Organizing, Care Team and STAY Funded. Since communication for the organization is primarily online, anyone can join and contribute to the STAYtions.
The Arts and Culture STAYtion fosters and promotes creative pursuits within Appalachia. As such, this is not just your mamaw’s Appalachian arts and culture.
Co-coordinator Jules said “All of our work is culture work; there is more to Appalachian culture than just quilts and banjos; though they are great, it goes farther than that! We have rappers, spoken word artists and punk bands! And culture is constantly shifting and changing, and we want to recognize that.”
The Arts and Culture Team also coordinates Appalachian Love Fest, an arts showcase.“Arts and Culture is joyous work in movement spaces” Chasity said. “I am excited to help foster that space where people can be joyous together, eat good food together and sing and dance together.”
Black Appalachian Young and Rising (BAYR) is a STAYtion that is committed to uplifting, supporting and stewarding Black Appalachian youth leadership in the region. According to STAY, the program is “FOR Black Appalachian Youth, BY Black Appalachian youth.” BAYR’s work includes annual BAYR gatherings to regular meetings and exploring what it means to be Black in Appalachia.
Committee member A-Nya, in her own writing for The Gravy out of Berea College, says BAYR has been a space to “explore the nuance of what it means to be Black in this region.”
“Upholding our commitments to Black youth has been an area of growth for STAY, and it is a place we want to be really intentional about as we move forward,” co-coordinator Jules emphasized.
The Communications and Storytelling STAYtion is focused on sharing the narrative of young people in Appalachia. This STAYtion examines how different print and digital mediums can be used to share STAY’s mission and current work. Recently, they’ve created a print newsletter that Jess Sturgill helps organize. The newsletter shares artistic work, recent events and things members are excited about.
“It is really nice to have a way to share all of the sweet art we are making together and share all of the friendship, community and camaraderie,” Jess said. “We also featured some of the work folks did at our last SSI. It’s a great place to share the activities our members are engaging in.”
The Care Team STAYtion is concentrated on maintaining the program’s needs. This includes setting best practices in instances of medical emergencies at gatherings or de-escalating conflicts that may arise. The Care Team ensures that members can participate safely, securely and with their mental, emotional and spiritual health in mind.
The Popular Education and Organizing STAYtion is the main charge in organizing youth
throughout the region. They also primarily maintain, create and update the curriculum STAY uses. As a team the Pop-Ed and Organizing one exciting, upcoming development of this STAYtion is the creation of local STAY chapters.
“STAY chapters will be a place where people can access STAY events locally without having to potentially drive nine hours across the region to do so,” Pop-Ed and Organizing member Robert Hunter said.
Anyone can organize a STAY chapter in their local area and bring local young folks into the community. The Popular Education and Organizing STAYtion also helps members identify the work they could be doing in their own communities.
The STAY Funded STAYtion is primarily concerned with funding, not only to keep the program going, but also to allocate resources to young organizers in Appalachia. STAY operates a member support fund, which provides stipends to young people so that they can do work in their own community.
STAY encompasses a plethora of work across the region, and this work is linked to the vision of liberatory justice for the region.
“People love STAY because we provide a political and social home and give people a glimpse and a taste of what it feels like living in liberation, living in community, a shimmer of how spirit lifting it is,” co-coordinator Mekyah said. “I am particularly excited about how we are putting our money where our mouth is and committing to our values where we resource Black youth leadership within STAY and also reckon with all the ways our organization has shifted throughout the years and still has a lot of ways to go.”
STAY’s work is networking and building relationships with young people across the region who wish to see a liberated and equitable Appalachia. Members are doing amazing things like organizing Pride events, like Robert, who’s planning in Alabama, to letting their voices be heard in calls for justice, freedom, and ceasefire for Palestine. Young people are already doing the hard work for liberatory justice within the region — STAY’s charge is connecting them, bringing them together and supporting the electric network of care that already exists here.
If you or someone you know is interested in STAY or want to contribute to a STAYtion, more information can be found at www.thestayproject.net. If you’re ready to start your own local STAY chapter, reach out to The Co-Coordinators through cocos@thestayproject.net
While we have all heard someone tell us that we need to leave Appalachia in one way or another, it is important to remember that there are people here who remind us that staying is beneficial — staying connected, staying together, staying rooted and staying in Appalachia.
